Focus 2020 – The Great Commission: Perspectives from LeadersSample

The Power in Glory 

Bible passage: 

He who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. (John 7:18) 

Devotional: 

When I was 10 years old, I took a Karate class at our local recreation center. I remember doing knuckle pushups—the reason for which I have lost! I also remember learning a valuable life lesson. Our instructor taught us that in punching an object, we were to focus not on the object itself, but rather concentrate on something beyond the object, say a wall. We were then coached to try to punch the wall. The impact felt by the intermediate object was significantly increased!  

Without careful attention, ministry can devolve into a focus on ever-present challenges with a heavy tilt toward an outcome orientation. And honestly, most of the pressing issues we face are worthy and important; many of them are near to the heart of the Father. However, over time a fixed focus on the presenting challenges results in impact fade. 

Jesus’ ministry was characterized by looking beyond his presenting situations to the glory of His Father. From rebuking Pharisees to teaching sinners to raising the dead, Jesus had a fixed perception of and commitment to bringing honor to the Father. The Scottish writer George MacDonald believed that honoring his Father, not the outcome for humanity, was the single compelling motivation for Jesus Christ’s incarnation, ministry, and death. 

Ministering with an eye to glory requires both a change of heart, as well as the practiced discipline of refocusing our attention on honoring the One we serve. Renewal comes in pausing for recalibration to consider how, and if, our current service will bring glory—enlarged honor, value, renown—to the One we serve. This is not a life detached from circumstances, but one with a rigorous eye toward the object of our service. It is not an avoidance of hard work, but an empowering of it. “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John. 17:4). 

Quote: The test of the life of a saint is not success, but faithfulness in human life as it actually is. We should not set up success in Christian work as the aim; the aim is to manifest the glory of God in human life, to live the life hidden with Christ in God in human conditions. – Oswald Chambers 

Question: What activities in my life and ministry seem least infused with God’s life? 

Curtis Chanda 

International Director, Global Teams